Surrender a Pet/TNR

Deciding to surrender your pet:

Before surrendering your pet, consider rehoming through friends, family, or coworkers. Shelters can be stressful for pets, and rehoming them directly to a home is often the best option. If your pet is purebred, check for local breed-specific rescues, which often provide foster homes. The Toledo Humane Society has partnered with the Rehome Pet Project, a free service by Adopt-a-Pet.com and The Petco Foundation, to help you place your pet directly into a loving home. Visit the link below to learn more about this adoption program.


Pets Accepted

We accept dogs, cats, and other small domestic pets. We are not equipped to shelter livestock, wild animals or exotic pets. The Toledo Humane Society requires proof of ownership upon surrender. If you are not the owner, you must bring a signed note with a photocopy of the ID of the owner.

We cannot take stray dogs. Contact Lucas County Canine Care and Control at 419.213.2800 to report stray or lost dogs.

Things to Know

  • Surrender fees are non-refundable.
  • Cost: $30 per cat, $50 per dog, and $10 per pocket pet. Surrender fees go directly toward the care of the animals we house and take in daily. This includes spay/neuter, vaccinations, preventatives, specialized surgeries, food, enrichment, etc.
  • Print and fill out our dog questionnaire or cat questionnaire ahead of your appointment to help expedite the process! If you do not bring the completed form with you to your appointment, we will require you to fill out one at the time of surrender.
  • Appointments aren’t always available. If all appointments are full, please check back on the first and the fifteenth of each month. Appointments typically become available to book around 10AM on those days.
  • Toledo Humane Society does not accept feral cats.
  • There may be instances where the Toledo Humane Society is unable to place animals up for adoption. Severe health and/or behavior issues may prevent animals from being adoptable. We are unable to take cats who are house soiling. Please email our behavior department for additional resources on how to manage certain behaviors in the home at behavior@toledohumane.org.
  • Ohio law requires any animal that has bitten and broken skin be quarantined for 10 days to observe for signs of rabies. Please contact Lucas County Canine Care and Control or your veterinarian for quarantine services.

Consider Before You Surrender!

If you're struggling with your animal's behavior, contact our free behavior helpline at 419.891.0705 ext. 318 or behavior@toledohumane.org. This free service is available to anyone experiencing behavior problems with their dogs, cats, or pocket pets. Our trained behavior staff are here to help answer questions and provide solutions.

Abandoned/stray kitten information

TNR Appointments

To help reduce the outdoor community cat population in Toledo and surrounding areas, we are offering weekly spay/neuter (TNR – Trap-Neuter-Return) appointments. Appointments are available on a first-come, first-served basis, with the number of openings varying based on available resources. Appointments will be open for booking on the 1st of every month!

Important Notes:

  • TNR appointments are strictly for outdoor community cats. Owned pets will not be accepted.
  • If extreme cold weather is expected, caretakers must house the cat in a temperature-controlled environment (e.g., garage, spare room, basement) for recovery. If this is not possible, please schedule when weather conditions are more suitable.
  • Total cost for spay/neuter, ear-tip, and rabies vaccine: $40
  • Up to two cats can be scheduled per appointment
  • Add-on options:
    • FVRCP vaccine: $10
    • Flea/tick prevention (Bravecto): $5 per dose (lasts 3 months)
  • Cats must be feral or from a community outdoor population. Personal pets will not be accepted. If cat is social and you are looking to keep the cat as a pet, please seek care at your primary vet. If cat is social and you feel it would be a good indoor pet, please consider scheduling a surrender appointment!
  • Please bring feral cats in a trap if possible.

The Surrender Process

Before Your Appointment

Once you have booked your appointment, you will want to prepare for your appointment date. Depending on the day and unforeseen circumstances, your appointment may take longer than expected so please make sure you have allowed yourself plenty of time on that day. If you are the owner and are unable to attend the appointment, the person taking your place must bring a written and signed confirmation that you are allowing them to surrender the pet in your place. Your driver license/ID will be required at the time of the appointment. We also strongly recommend that you bring a copy of your pet's medical history as well as any toys, beds, blankets, etc. that your pet may be attached to and that will help them adjust to the shelter environment.

Print and fill out our dog questionnaire or cat questionnaire ahead of your appointment to help expedite the process! If you do not bring the completed form with you to your appointment, we will require you to fill out one at the time of surrender.

When You Arrive

Please park in our main parking lot and make your way to the intake entrance on the side of the building. The entrance is a glass vestibule and the door will read "Intake." Please ring the doorbell next to the door and a staff member will be with you shortly. All animals must be contained, whether it be by a carrier or on a leash.

Evaluation

During the appointment, a staff member will sit down with you to go over all of your pet's physical, behavioral, and medical history. Once all the information is in our system we will take your pet to our clinic to perform a behavioral assessment to ensure that your pet will be able to be placed up for adoption through our organization. Due to the stress and high activity of the shelter, your pet may react differently in a shelter than they would in their home environment, therefore rehoming your pet through the shelter may not be the best suitable option for your pet. If your pet shows any sign of aggression during the behavioral assessment we may not be able to take the pet and you will be given alternate resources and suggestions. If your pet does pass the assessment, you will then sign our surrender contract, which then signs all rights over to the Toledo Humane Society.

Schedule Appointment

Rehome

Rehoming your pet should be easy and stress-free both for you and your pet.

The Toledo Humane Society has partnered with the Rehome Pet Project. The experts at Adopt-a-Pet.com, the largest non-profit pet adoption website, with support from The Petco Foundation, have created a simple, reliable, free program to help you place your pet from your loving home directly to another.

Rehome Pet Project

Lost and Found Pets

Whether you’ve lost your pet or found a stray, click here for a list of available resources to help you during this stressful time.

Lost and Found Pets

In Need of Pet Food?

If you or someone you know is struggling to afford their pet's food, THS is here to help. No questions asked and no need to apply. Please contact us in advance for proper arrangements can be made. All pet food is first come first serve.

Contact Us Today